1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and methods for forming the same, and more specifically to bi-directional switches for RF signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Switched filter architectures are common in many communication systems to discern desired signals in various bands of interest. These switched filter architectures have switch requirements such as low loss and high isolation over a wide range of frequencies (e.g. 1 MHz to 6.0 GHz). Miniaturized switches such as monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) and MEMS switches are commonly used in broadband communications systems due to stringent constraints imposed on the components of such systems (such as size, power and weight (SWaP)).
Three-dimensional microstructures can be formed by utilizing sequential build processes. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,012,489 and 7,898,356 describe methods for fabricating coaxial waveguide microstructures. These processes provide an alternative to traditional thin film technology, but also present new design challenges pertaining to their effective utilization for advantageous implementation of various devices such as miniaturized switches.